Plymouth is best known as the destination of the Mayflower. The Pilgrims, their heirs, and more recent immigrants spent their lives here as farmers, fishermen, shopkeepers, and factory workers. Industries such as the Plymouth Cordage Company, Puritan Mills, Mabbett�s, and Russell Mills built communities that are in danger of being forgotten today. Plymouth Labor and Leisure revisits the industrial history of this town through images of Plymouth�s people at work in the mills and in corner grocery stores, visiting downtown shops, and attending neighborhood schools.
James W. Baker is a Plymouth native who lives with his wife, Peggy, in his great-great-grandfather�s house at Jabez Corner. Formerly research director at Plimoth Plantation, his interest in Plymouth transcends the Pilgrims to embrace the entire history of this Old Colony town.